Oil-burner.



H. A. MARKS. OIL BURNER.

H. A. MARKS. QIL BURNER. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7, 1913.

1, 1 1 0,329. Patented Sept. 15, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z June/Mo's IVinterhaven, in the county of Polk and of that type. are permitted.

the burner proper that as'the level of the creased to insure. combustion. of the fuel PATENT orricn HENRY.A. MARKS,' OF WINTERHAVEN, FLORIDA.

0IL-BURNER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 7, 1913. Serial No. 783,584.

To all whom it may concern):

Be it known that-I, HENRY A. Minute, citizen of the United statesyresldmg at State of Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oil Burners, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates tonew and useful improvements in crude oil burners, and more particularly to that type of burners especially designed for use in orchards for dissipating frost and preventing injury to the fruit in case of a sudden fall in the tempcrature and known as orchard heaters, this invention being an improvement over the form of orchard heater disclosed in apatent granted to me March 19, 1912, and bearing Patent No. 1,020,610.

Heretofore orchard heaters have been constructed to create as heavy a smudge as possible irrespective of the heat given out, the idea being to protect the-vegetation by the smudge rather than bytlie heat generated from the burning of the crude oil. At the present time, it is impossible to use, smudge producing orchard hetaes in many localities because of legislation against them as smoke nuisances, and for this reason I have constructed an orchard heater which will produce an intense heat with practically no smudge. In doing this, a further object which I have had in view is to so construct the heater that by a slight change in the position of the parts the heater may be employed as a smudge producer and, therefore, used as such in localities where heaters A further object of my invention is to provide an orchard heate'rhaving a container and a burner, the burner and container-being so arranged relatively and the container so shaped that every bit of crude oil in the container is ultimatel consumed, 11c; residue save'a dry uncak ash being le t.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an orchard heater in which the combustion of the crude oil takes lace under a direct draft and to provi e means for regulating this draft. In this connection, I so arrange the draft openings of oil is lowered in-the container the proportion of "air admitted to the burner is in- Iii-the drawings:

at the upper end of the burner under all circumstances.

Patented Sept. 15, 1914.

A further object of my invention is to I construct an orchard heater having a burner so arranged that the major portion of the crude oil is burnedas a gas, the gas being generated by a relatively slow combustion at the surface of the crude oil in the coutainer exterior of the burner. In this. conncctnzn, I provide the, orchard heater with a tubular member surrounding the burner in spaced relation thereto to form between it and the bugner acircumferential draft chamber and between it and the wall of the container a preheating chamber for a por tion of the crude oil 'f-uel employed.

The burner construction includes a flue and the parts are so arranged that the gases generated in the heater are burnt in the flue. =In order to provide means for varying the intensity of the heat generated by use of the heater, I have constructed this flue in such a manner as to render the same reversible, by which means the combustion may bemade to take place in either a relatively large space or in a restricted space, as preferred, the former arrangement decreasing the intensity-of the heat and creating a smudge.

A further object of my invention is to provide still another adjustment of the flue whichwill further increase the intensity of the heat and decre so the smudge, this object being accomplis ed by still a third positioning of the fine in inverted position and slightly at one side of the burner, the top of the heater being arranged to support and hold the flue in such position.

, With these and other ob ects'in .view, my invention will be more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings,.and then specifically pointed outrin the claims which are attached to and form a part of this application.

Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of my improved form of orchard heater; Fig. 2 is an inverted perspective view of a portion of the burner removed from the fuel container; Fig.- 3 is a perspective view of the orchard heater complete; Fig. A- is a fragmentary elevational view showing the fine in inverted position and supportedslightly out of 'alinement with the rest of the burner, a portion of the ton of the heater being broken away.

to more clcarly d'isclose the positioning of the flue.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and lndicated in all the views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

The improved orchard heater forming the subject-matter of my present lnvention includes a burner, indicated as a whole by the nun'ieral 10, a container 11 for the crude oil, and an intermediate tubular member 12 positioned-about the burner and in spaced. relation between it and the walls of\ the container to provide a circumferential draft chamber and a preheating chamber for the crude oil. The burner may be employed with practically any form of container, its use being in no way limited to the specific form shown in the drawings, but, inany case, the tubular member 12 should be employed with the burner and for this reason burner.

should best be considered as part of the The container 11 is formed of sheet metal, preferably steel, being substantially cylindrical in shape, open at its upper end and closed at its lowerend. The closed lower end 13 of the container is preferably flatly formed centrally, but has its marginal edge inclined upwardly, as at 14,.t0 merge with the vertical wall of the container for a reason which will be hereinafter explained. The tubular member 12 tapers slightly from its upper to its lower end, being open at both ends, and is provided at its upper end with an outwardly and downwardly extending supporting rim 15,"this rim being pe'rma nently secured to the upper end of the tubu lar member 12 by an interlocking bead .16. This rim is proportioned to fit snugly about the upper end of the container 11 to form, in efiect, an air-tight closure between the container and the tubular member 12.

- Thetapering of the tubular member is such tion of thebottom with pppe'r -to its lower end and is prov'ddedat its upper end with an outwardly and'downwardly-depending supporting rim 19, the lower edge of which seats in a circum eren tially i nstruck depression 20 of the supporting rim '15 when the burner is in'pla'ce. This supporting rim 19 forms the top or closure ofthe orchard heater, and it will be apparent that all air entering theheater must enter the same through openings :provided in.

manner that the supporting rim 15 is secured to the tubular member 12. The inner tubular member 17 is open at both ends and is entirely disconnected from and free of the outer tubular member its lower end extending slightly below the lower end of the outer tubular member. A plurality of draft openings 21 are formed in the inner tubular member in vertically spaced apart series,

.each draft opening being diametrically spaced with respect to another draft opening of the same series. These draft openings are in the shape of isosceles triangles and are formed in upright position with the vertices of one series extending slightlyabove the bases of the next series above. l urthermore, the 'draft openings of one series-are formed in staggered relation to the draft openings of adjacent series, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The upper ends'of the draft openings of the upper series terminate substantially at the level of the upper end of the outer tubular member 12, while the upper 'end of the inner tubular member 17 extends considerably above said level;

The supporting rim 19 of the inner tubular member 17 includes a vertically disposed wall'22 and this wall at one side is provided with a series of elongated draft openings 23, A sliding plate 24 mounted for movement between guides 25 secured to the inner face of this wall provides means for regulating the admission ofair through these draft openings, the plate being formed with openings 26'Wl'llCl'1 in one position register with .the openings 23. The adjustment of this plate is accomplished by means of an 'outstruck car 27 movable in a slot 28 formed in the wall 22. The Wall 22 at a point opposite the draft openings 23 is provided with one or more openings 29 which, under some circumstances, act as auxiliary draft openrags, and, under other c rcumstances, as

' safety vents to permit escape of any surplus gas generated within the heater. The flue 18, previously referred t'o,'is open at both ends and tapered from. one end to the other, its smaller end being proportioned to extend somewhat within the upper end of the inner tubular member 17 in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The taper of this flue is such that when re moved from the upper end of the tubular member 17 and inverted its larger end will seat upon the supporting rim 19 about the upper end of the tubular member 17. As will be later explained, the combustion of the generated gas takes place in this fine and will be more or less perfect and rapid as.

the flue is in inverted .or upright position. 1

In addition to the abovementioned ways of mounting the. this uponi the heateryI .pro-

1,1io,32e 3 vide still a third way, namely that illustrated in Fig. 4: of the drawings, in which the flue is inverted and seated upon the supporting rim or cover 19 slightly out of alinement with the inner tubular member or burner 17. In order to provide means for holding the line in this position and prevent its displacement from the rim, I provide the supporting rim 19 with a pair of spaced apart, upwardly-extending studs 30 each provided with an arouate slot 31, the curvature of which is the same as the curvature of the larger end of the fine. The line when positioned as shown in Fig. 4 has its edge portion seated in these slots and all movement of the flue is, therefore, prevented.

Having thus described the construction of my improved orchard heater, I will now explain the manner in which it is employed, which is comparatively simple, although the principle upon which it operates is quite complicated.

In employing the orchard heater the container is nearly filled with the crude oil, the outer tubular member 12 is positioned in the container and the inner tubular memforce ber with its cover 19 applied. amount of gasolene is then poured upon the surface of the crude ,oil in the inner tubular member and ignited when the flue 18 is put place. The gasolene passes through the draft openings 21 in the inner tubular member and therefore spreads over the surface of the crude oil, both within the inner tubular member and in the space between the inner and outer tubular members. For this reason the entire surface of the crude oil, save for that between the outer tubular member and. the container, is ignited, the smoke and other products of combustion from the inner tubular member passing out through the flue 18 and creating a draft through the draft openings 23 causing the smoke and other products of combustion from the burning crude oil outside of the inner tubular member to pass inwardly through the draft openings 21 and out through the flue. The heat generated by the burning of this gasolene and the subsequent burning of the crude oil raises the temperature of the inner tubular member and the oil contained therein to such an extent that within a few minutes of the time the fuel is first ignited sufficient heat has been 0 erated to act in connection with the draft provided to generate large quantities of. gas in the inner tubular member. Asthe quantity of gas so generated increases, the pointat which it ignites gradually rises until when the heater is in full operation the gas burning in the upper part of the flue 18. Under these circumstances, there is absolutely no combustion at the surface of the fuel within the inner tubular member, although the fuel con- A small.

tained between the inner and outer tubular members continues to burn. This continued burning of the fuel between the tubular members 12 aid 17 preheats the fuel between the walls of the outer tubular me1u ber and the container and also highly heats bined hot draft or mixing and heating chamber, that the space within the upper portion of the mner tubular member 17 above the fuel forms a gas generatmg chamber, and that the flue itself forms the combustion chamber of the heater. The amount of crude oil, burned as such in the heating chamber, is comparatively slight in proportion to the amount of crude oil gasified and burned as gas in the line, and it will, therefore, be clear that, although the heater utilizes crude oilas fuel, it is really in effect a gas heater. For this reason a 'much more intense heat may he obtained in proportion to the fuel consumed than is possible with crude oil heaters of the usual type.

It will, of course, be clear that the degree of heat maybe regulated by adjustment of the sliding plate or damper 2-1 controlling the supply of air to the heater, as any decrease in the air supply will cause a more moderate combustion of fuel in the heating chamber and, consequently, diminish the quantity of gas generated. With the draft openings fully exposed, a flame extending from three to four feet above the top of the flue may be obtained.

.The fuel level will, of course, be. substan tially the same in the preheating chamber, heating chamber and gas gei'ieratin'g chamber, all of said chambers being in direct communication with each other at their lower ends. By inclining the peripheral edge-portion of the bottom of the fuel con tainer, as shown at 14, all the fuel contained therein may be burned as the fuel is directed inwardly toward the center of thecontainer and is not in any way protected from the draft through the heating and draft cham her by the lower end of the outer tubular member 12, as would be the case if the bot tom of the container were level throughout its entire extent.

iii)

The inner tubular member should be ex I of the outer tubular member in order that r the generation of gas may be maintained as long as possible, as it will be apparent that as soon-as the fuel level in the container falls below the lower end of the inner tubular member 17 combustion at the surface of the fuel will take place throughout the entire area of the fuel and practically no gas will then be generated. If the flue 18 is inverted and placed directly in alinement with the inner tubular member 17, the draft therethroughwill be increased and the com bustion of. the gas more rapid and complete,

the result being an increase in'heat and a decrease i-n smudge. If the 'fiue swhen in- )Verted, is positioned. as shown in Fig. 4, this effect will be stillmore pronounced, due to the excess of air to the fine 18 from above the heater, practically no smudge being produced when the flue is so arranged. Be-

.cause of this arrangement, the orchard heater may be employed to protect vegetation by the generation of intense heat With-' out an accompanying smudge when desired, or employed as a smudge producer, as preferre The specific shaping of the draft openings 21 and arrangement thereof is of great importance, particularly the arrangement of one series in such a manner that their upper ends extend slightly above the lower ends gasify more readily than the heavier oils and during the latter part of the operation it will be apparent that nothing but the heavier oils will remain and more air is,

therefore, necessary for their proper and perfect combustion. -It should be noted at this point that thesizes of the draft openings 21 vary, the openings in each series beingsomewhat larger than those in the series immediatelyabove. This still further increases the proportion of air supplied to the burner as the fuel is consumed.

It will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the specific'construction shown, for which reason, I reserve the right to make any minor changesin construction, within the scope of the appended claims,

Without in the slightest degree departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is 1. The combination with an oil container, of a burner suspended within the container and including an outer member, an inner .member spaced from the outer member to form an intermediate air passage, the inner member having its side walls provided with apertures from its lower end to substantially a level with the upper end of the outer member and both the members having their'lower ends open.

2. An oil burner including an outer tubular member adapted to be suspended within an oil container,-an inner perforated tubular member spaced from the outer member to form an intermediate draft passage, the members being unconnected and open at their lower ends, and a flue forming an upper continuation of the inner tubular member.

The combination with an oil container, of a cover therefor, and a tubular member opening at itsupper end through said cover, said cover and tubular member having draft openings, the draft openings of the tubular member being triangular in shape and each with one angle uppermost.

4. The combination with an oil container, of a cover therefor,-and a tubular member opening at its upper end through said cover, said cover and tubular member having draft openings, the draft openings of the tubular member being triangular in shape, arranged in staggered vertically spaced apart series with the upper ends of one series extending above the lower ends of the next higher series.

In an orchard heater, a container having a substantially vertical side wall and a bottom the marginal edge of which is inclined-upwardly to merge with the side wall at an angle thereto, and a burner suspended within the container and closing the top thereof;

6. In an orchard heater, a container having a bottom the marginal edge of which is inclined upwardly, and a burner suspendedwithin the container and closing the top thereof, said burner including an outer tubular member having a depending supporting rim engaging over the upper edge of the container, an inner tubular member having draft openings, and a downwardly depend ing supporting rim engaging .over the rim of the first mentioned tubular member, ,the lower edge of the outer tubular member being in vertical alinement with the inner portion of the inclined marginal part of the bottom, and a flue engaging in the upper end of the inner tubular member and form-,;

ing a continuation thereof.

r l of an outer tubular member having an outwardly and dowmvardly depending supporting flange engaging the container to Huspendthe member therein, and an inner tubular member provided with .draft openings and havmg an outwardly and downwardly The combination with an oil container,

depending supporting rim removably seating on said flange to suspend the inner tubular member Within the outer tubular mem-- ber, the said rim being provided With draft openings.

8. An orchard heater including an oilcontalner, spaced inner and outer tubular members open at their ends suspended with in the container, a rim carried by theupper end of the outer'tubuiar member and engaging the upper end ofthe container to provide therewith and with the outer tubular membena circumferential preheating chamher, a rim carried byfthe upper end of the inner tubular member and. removably seating on the rim of'the outer tubular member to form'with said members a circumferen-- tial air passage and heating chamber, the inner tubular member being provided with draftopenings and the rim thereof also being providedwith draft openings, and a flue seating in-and forming a continuation of the inner tubular member, the upper portion ofsaid inner member providing a gas generating chamber and the fine a combustion chamber. ,7

'9. -An oil b' i ner including an outer tubular memben i cans for supporting theouter tubular member in an oil container, an inner tubular member. provided 'With draft;

openings,'an outwardly and downwardly depending supporting rim carried by the inner tubular member adapted for engageonent with the supporting means of the outer tubular member and to forma cover for the container, said rim {being provided at one side with spaced studs having arenate slots, and a tapered flue proportionedto seat with its smaller end in the upper end of the inner tubular member or With the edge of its larger end'in the slots of the studs.

'10. The combination ith an oil container, of a cover therefor, and a tubular member opening at its upper end throughsaid cover, said cover having draft openings and said tubular memher having draft openings Wider at their lower than at their upper ends.

11. The combination tainer, of a cover therefor, and a tubular member opening at its upper end through said cover, said cover and tubular member having draft openings, the draft openings of the tubular member being arranged in sewith an oil conries, the openings of each series being larger than the openings of the series immediately thereabove.

12. Inan orchard heater, a container having a bottom, the marginal edge of which is inclined upwardly, and a burner suspended within the container and including inner and outer'tubular members, the lower edge of the outer tubular member being substantially in. vertical alinement with thelinner portion of the inclined marginal part of the bottom of the container? 13. The combination Withanoil container, of a cover therefor, means for supplying air to the container, and a tubularmember open- 'ing through the cover and extending within the container, said tubular member Within the container being provided with draft openings tapering from their lower to their upper ends.

14. An oil burner including a tubular" member provided With spaced apart series of draft-openings, the draft openings beburner being adapted for normal suspension Within an oil container. With the Wider ends of the openings lowermost.

15. An oil burner including a tubular member adapted to'be suspended-within an oil container and provided with series of draft openings, the openings of each series being larger than those of the series immediately' above? 16. An oil burner including .a tubular in the slots .pf the studs .to project partially over the opening of the cover.

ing' Wider at one end than at the other, said I In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

HENRY A. MARKS. [L s] I Witnesses:

' W, J. MCMARLIN,

C. G. MAHEY. 

